Elevator-chain



(No Mode/1.) 6 She-ets-Sheet l.

G. W. LEVALLEY.

ELBVATOR CHAIN.. No. 311,334. Patented Jan. Z7,Y 1885.

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e. W; LEVALLEY.

BLEVATOR CHAIN.

NQ. 311,334. Y Patented Jen. 27., 1885-x l R17' i E34. Y

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(No Model.) Y 6 Sheets`Sheet 3.

C. W'. LEVALLEY. ELBVATOR CHAIN.

No. 311,334-j Patented Jan, 27, 1.885.

(No Model.) l6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

09W. LEY/ALLEY.

l v BLEVATOR CHAIN. No. 311,334. Patented 13.11. 27,' 1885.

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(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 5.

l 0. W. LBVALLEY.

ELEVATOR CHAIN.

No. 311,334. Patented Jan.. Z7, 1885.I

(No Model.) 6 sheets-sheet 6.

0. W. LEVALLEY. f

` l ELEVATORGHAIN. No. 311,334. Patented Jan. 27,1885..

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CHRISTOPHER W. LEVALLEY, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

ELEVATOR-CHAIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 311,334, dated January27, 1885.

i Application filed July 2G, 18534. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER W. LE- VALLEY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElevator-chains, ot' which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a drivingwheel having my improved chainapplied thereto. Fig. 2 is an edge view of the same. Fig. 3 is a sideview of one of the buckets. Fig. 4 is a plan or top view of one of thebuckets. Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the links. Fig. Gis an edgeView of one of the links. Fig. 7 is a view of two of the links andbuckets turned toward each other in proper position for detaching thelinks from each other. Fig. 8 is a view illustrating the method ofapplying the buckets to the links. Fig. 9 is a side elevation, partly insection, of a wheel and chain containing a modification. Figs. 10, 11,12, 13, and 14 are details. Fig. 15 is a vertical transverse section ofone of the links on line rv, Fig. 12. Fig. 16 is a side view of one ofthe links and one of the buckets in position for applying the bucket tothe link. Fig. 17 is a side elevation, partly in section, showinganother modification. Figs. 17 a, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 are details. Fig.23 is aview of two of the links and a bucket turned into proper positionfor applying it to the link. Fig. 24.- is a side elevation, partly insection, of a wheel and chain containing another modiljcation. Figs. 25,26, 27 are details. Fig. 28 is a view illustrating the method ofconnecting the links and buckets together.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the igures.

A is the hub,B the spokes, land C the iianges, of a grooved wheel ofsubstantially the construction ordinarily used for driving chains byfrictional contact, except that the flanges are farther apart thanusual, there being a bottom or dat peripheral surface, D, between thebases of the flanges. Each link is composed of two side bars, E E,provided with downward projections or flanges F F, the outer faces ofwhich are inclined toward the center of the link, so as to fit closelythe longitudinal peripheral groove between the iianges G C of thedrive-wheel, an end bar, G, which is ilattened or slabbed off at oneside, as at g, or on both sides, and a hook, H, at the opposite end,constructed with a narrow throat, Zz, of such width as to permit theinsertion of the end bar, G, of an adjacent link whenever two of themare turned into an unusual relative position, as indica-ted in Fig. 7,the relative sizes of the end bar and its seat in the hook being suchthat when thelinks are straightencd out in ordinary working positionthey are not liable to accidental separation.

K is a bucket having substantially parallel sides, an inclined outerside or end, Z, and a curved end Z.

Z2 is a wing projecting upwardly and rear wardly from the upper edge ofthe curved end Z ofthe bucket.

Z3 is a spur or stop projecting laterally from the upper edge of theside K of the bucket. There may be one of these stops upon each of thesides of the bucket, if desired.

M m is a coupler or hook projecting downwardly from the bottom of thebucket, the throat m being of such width as to admit the end bar, G,when turned into proper position. This hook or coupler is aboutone-third the width of the bucket, and is placed at a point aboutequidistant from its sides, being ot'such width or thickness as to iitclosely between the two prongs or forks of the hook H, as is plainlyshown in Figs. 2 and 5, where that end of the link is shown as beingmade without any end bar connecting the two parts of the hook. Byplacing one of the buckets and one of the links in an unusual position,as shown in Fig. S-that is, a position other than 'that occupied by thelinks and buckets when in working relation-the bucket may be mountedupon the link by passing the end bar, G, through the throat m. Thebucket may then be turned into the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 7,after which another link may be added anda bucket applied to it, and soon until a chain is made up of the desired length.

Vhen the chain is in operation, as indicated in Fig. 1, and moving inthe direction indicated by arrow 1 of that gure, the

Weight of the curved part Z will keep thebucket in a practicallyhorizontal position, so that it will carry its contents without spilling5 IOO but when passing around the driving-wheel the contact of the partD of the wheel with irst the win g Z2 and afterward the curved part Zwill tilt the bucket into the position indicated in Fig. 1, which willdischarge its contents, particularly if it 'be a liquid, in such mannerthat it will be caught by the chute J, and may be conducted thence toany desired point. When the buckets are passing down the other leg ofthe chain--that is to say, the right-hand side of Fig. l, and thencethrough the water or whatever material may be at the lower end of thedoubled chain-they will be righted up into a horizontal position, sothat they will fill themselves, as will be readily understood withoutfurther explanation. It will'be seen that the pivotal line of t-hebucket is nearer the front end Z than the curved rear end Z thus causingthe buckets, whether empty` or lled, to tilt backward until retarded bythe stop Z3, by reason ofthe greater portion of the weight of the bucketbeing upon the inside ofthe loop formed by the chain passing over thedriving-wheel. The stop Z3 is so located that the bucket is in asubstantially horizontal position when it comes in contact withV theside bars of the link, in which position the bucket remains until it istilted by the driving-wheel, whether grooved as above described orformed with sprocket-teeth, as will be hereinafter set forth. The formof the buckets and their arrangement upon the links are such that theyare tilted by the driving-wheel and their contents discharged into thechute J before the bucket is raised to the horizontal line of the axisof the wheel.

As shown in the drawings, the coupler M m is of about the same externaldiameter as is the forked hook upon the chain-link; but, when preferred,the coupler may be made of an increased diameter, and the bucket may bemade of such length that each coupler shall engage with the upper edgeofthe curved end of the bucket immediately below it, and thus preventsuch bucket from turning over so far as to be accidentally disengagedfrom its supporting end bar, in which case it would beimpossible toremove any bucket from the chain except by' tilting the one above it sofar that the upper edge of the curved end could swing through the notchor portion of the coupler which is cut away adjacent to the throat m,-but4 in practice I prefer the construction shown, because when the wingZ2 is employed to act as a stop by engaging the coupler or the linlchookabove it, it can be so bent into the position shown in dotted lines,Fig. 7, as to permit the removal of the bucket to which it is attached,these buckets being made preferably of-malleable iron. Thestops Z andthe wing ZIl act as stops to limit the rocking movement of the bucketand retain it in working position-that is, to prevent it from tilting sofar as to permit the bucket to become detached from its supporting-link.

Referring particularly to Figs. 9 .to 16, the

farther down the side of the bucket, and except,further,that the seat orrecess inthe coup ler M is somewhat larger in crosssection; but thechain-links in this modification are essentially different.

I I are the side bars, and N Nthe end bars. The end harNis of suchdiameter that it can be readily passed through the throat m. The end barVN is of much greater diameter, but instead of being round has a grooveor recess upon one side adapted to receive and forni part of a seat forthe end bar N, the depth of the recess being such that when the partsare in position as indicated in Figs. 9, 10, and 16 the end bar N isheld firmly in place between the wall of the groove and the inner wallof the coupler'. The side bars, I I, are also provided withdownwardly-projecting anges F, to engage with the flanges C C of the`drivewheel.

In putting theselinks and buckets together to form a chain, I iirstinsert one of the end bars, N, within the seat in the coupler, and thenturn two links and abucket into the relative position shown in Fig. 16,after which the end bar' N can be thrust endwise into the seat by theside of the end bar N, the side bars, I I, passing through the throat m,which is ofa width a little greater than the thickness of these sidebars.

When in operation, the buckets are lled and emptied in substantially thesame manner as the buckets of the previously described chain are filledand emptied, as will be under- 'stoodfrom an examination of Fig. 9without further explanation.

In the modication shown in Figs. 17 to 23 the driving-wheel is of thesame construction as that above described. Each chainlink is a duplicateofthe others.

O'O are the side bars, each expanded upon its upper surface to form anear or lug, o, eachvof which is provided with a seat toreceive a journalof a bucket to be hereinafter described. One of these seats has anarrowthroat, o', cut down through the metaly from the upper side. Y f f P isthe hook provided with a notch in its lip p.

p is alip or spur projecting upwardly from lOO IIO

the base of the hook or from the end bar with y end, l, a curved rearend, Z', an upwardly and rearwardly projecting wing, Z2, and a stop, Z3,substantially like the buckets heretoforedescribed.

It R are trunnions or journals cast integrally with the bucket, andprojecting laterally from its lower side or bottom, as indicated inFigs. 17, 19, and 20. By bending the wing Z2 into the position shown indotted lines in Fig. 23, and then placing the bucket in about theposition in which the bucket is shown in that iigure, the trunnion R canbe inserted in its seat in ear o, after which the trunnion It can beinserted in its seat by thrusting it through the throat o. The bucketcan then be turned crosswise ofthe link, as in Fig. 17, when theengagement of the wing Z2 and the stop Z3 respectively with the hook ofthe adjacent link and the side bars of its own link may prevent thebucket from being accidentally unseated. In the modification shown inFigs. 24 to 28 the chain is mounted upon and driven by a sprocket-wheelhaving the hub A, spokes B, and teeth A', which may be of any usual orapproved constructiomexcept that its periphery is formed with a seriesof semicircular or other shaped recesses c. Each of the chainlinksconsists of two side bars, I I, and two end bars, S T, the end barsbeing circular in cross-section, but of different sizes. The bucket inthis case is constructedwith four walls, substantially as in the otheriigures, and the bottom is expanded, as at M, and is provided with twoseats, thus forming a coupler to receive and unite the end bars ofadjacent links. This coupler extends the full width of the bucket,being, therefore, about as wide as the end bars of the links are long.The smaller of the seats, m', is of such size as to fit closely thesmaller end bar, S7 and communicates with the larger seat, m2, which isof such size as to fit closely the end bar T, the width of the throat mbeing about the same as the diameter of the smaller end bar, and theside bars are as thick as will pass through the throat, but may be madeof any desired width to insure the requisite strength.

In putting these links and buckets together the end bars S may be thrustthrough the throats of the couplers and into their seats m', after whichthe end bars T may be thrust endwise into the seats, the links andbuckets being held in about the position shown in Fig. 28, the side barspassing through the throats in the couplers.

W'hen the chain and buckets are in any position which they will assumein ordinary working, it will be impossible to disengage or detach themfrom each other, and when the buckets are moving in an upward direction,as indicated by arrow 1, Fig. 24, the buckets will be maintained withtheir upper edges in substantially horizontal planes by the reason ofthe relative positions of the seats in which the end bars are supported.As the buckets traverse the sprocket-wheel their inner ends will engagewith the shoulders c', and thus be tilted, as indicated in Fig. 24,after they have passed the chute J; but it will be seen that the innerupper corners of the buckets can enter the recesses a, and thus preservetheir horizontal position until after they have passed the chute, aswill be readily understood by an examination of Fig. 24 without furtherexplanation.

I do not wish to be limited to the exact sizes or proportions of anyofthe parts shown in the drawings; but prefer to make the bottoms of thebuckets and the front inclined sides of such thickness that the wat-erwill run buckets traverse the wheel in an upward direction, and if itybefound in practice that they will not do this satisfactorily when movingat the desired rate of speed the extent to which the buckets are tiltedmay be increased by making the -flanges of the wheel to project a lessdistancefrom the bottom D of the groove; but under ordinarycircumstances I believe that the construction shown will operate satis,-factorily.

Vhat I claim isy 1. An elevator-bucket provided with aseat adapted toreceive the end bars of chain-links, substantially as set forth. y

l 2. The combination ofthe grooved drivingwheel, the rectangular links,and the buckets pivoted upon the end bars of the links, substantially asset forth. i

3. In an elevator, the combination of rectangular links, and bucketsprovided with couplers adapted to receive end bars of adjacent links,and to vibrate thereon, substantially as set forth.

4. In an elevator, the combination, with a wheel having a longitudinalperipheral groove, ofachain, and buckets pivoted upon the chain, andadapted ,to engage with the groove of the wheel, and to be tiltedthereby, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of the grooved wheel, the centrally-open chain-links, the buckets pivoted to` the chain-links, and stops upon thebuckets to limit their vibrations upon the chain-links, substantially asset forth.

6. The combinationof the grooved wheel, the open chain-links, and thebuckets pivoted to the chain-links, and adapted to engage with thebottom of the groove in the wheel, and provided with stops adapted toengage with the side bars of the chain to limit the vibration of thebuckets, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination of the rectangular links having the iiattened endbars, and the forked hooks, with the buckets mounted upon the end barsbetween the forked hooks substantially as set forth.

S. A chain-bucket having an open hook with a narrow throat adapted toreceive and be supported upon a flattened end bar of a drive-chain,substantially as set forth.

9. rIhe combination, with the grooved drivl8o out and be discharged uponthe chute as the.

roo

ing-wheeLof the chain, andthe buckets mounted upon and vibrating aboutthe end bars of the chain, and having the stops and the Wings to limittheir vibrations, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with the grooved driving-wheel, and the chute J, ofthe chain and the buckets pivoted to the chain so that the inner ends ofthe buckets engage with the driving-wheel, and are tilted to dischargetheir contents after passing the chute, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination, with the centrallyopen rectangular links having theflattened end bars and divided hooks, of the buckets provided with thenarrow-throated hooks adapted to receive the flattened end bars, and

with the stops which limit the vibrations of the bucket, substantiallyas set forth.

12. The combination of the driving-chain, the-buckets adapted to becoupled to the chain when placed in an unusual position, and stops whichretain the buckets in Working position, substantially as set forth.

13. The combination of a chainlink, an elevator-bucket pivoted upon thechain-link, its pivotal line being nearer one end thanthe other7Where-by the greater part of the Weight of the bucket is to one side ofthe connection with the link, and a stop which limits the tilting of thebucket, substantially as set forth.

14. The combination of a driving-wheel, a chain which passes around saidWheel, elevator-buckets pivoted upon the link of a chain, its pivotalline being nearer one end than the other, whereby the greater part ofthe weight of the bucket is upon the inside of the loop formed by thechain passing around the wheel, and a stop which limits the tilting ofthe bucket, the said Wheel being adapted to -tilt the bucket anddischarge its contents, substantially in the manner described.

15. The combination of a driving-wheel, a chain composed of openrectangular links, and buckets pivoted upon the links and lying acrossthe line of the chain, said Wheel being adapted, substantially as setforth, to engage with one end of the bucket and tilt the same todischarge its contents before the bucket passes the horizontal line ofthe axis of the Wheel, substantially as setforth.

16. The combination of the drivingwheel, a chain composed of openrectangular links,

and buckets pivoted tothe links and lying

